Respect for the User

Do not waste their time. Speed is respect.

The Problem

The modern web is hostile to users:

Sign up before you can do anything
Configure settings before they work
Read documentation to understand basics
Wait for loading spinners
Navigate confusing interfaces
Deal with dark patterns and upsells

Every second wasted is disrespect.

Standard Garden rejects this entirely.

Our Promise

10 seconds from thought to beautiful URL.

That’s it. That’s the entire user experience:

Paste your text
Click “Make it Beautiful”
Get a URL

No account required. No configuration. No friction.

Like Pastebin, but your content looks professional.

What This Means in Practice

1. Anonymous-First Design

You can use Standard Garden without an account:

Paste text instantly
Get a shareable URL: /a/abc123
7-day lifespan (encourages account creation, keeps storage sustainable)
Zero barriers to entry

Want to keep it forever? Create an account after you love it.

This is the opposite of “growth hacking.” We earn your trust first.

2. Progressive Enhancement

The upgrade path is natural, not forced:

Anonymous (no account):
↓ loved it? create account
Free Account (10 notes):
↓ need more? upgrade
Paid Account ($4/month, unlimited):
↓ power user? use advanced tools
Obsidian Plugin + CLI

Each step is optional. Each step adds value. No pressure.

3. Zero Configuration

Most platforms make you configure everything:

❌ Choose a theme
❌ Set up categories
❌ Configure typography
❌ Pick fonts and colors
❌ Set metadata

Standard Garden does this for you.

Typography is automatic. Temperaments are detected. Everything just works.

You can customize if you want (via frontmatter), but you never need to.

4. Speed is a Feature

Our performance targets:

First Contentful Paint: <1s
Time to Interactive: <2s
Lighthouse Score: >95
Bundle Size: <100kb total JS

These aren’t aspirational. They’re requirements.

If you can’t meet them, you’re doing it wrong.

The Technical Implementation

Speed isn’t an accident—it’s architecture.

1. Static-First Rendering

We pre-render everything possible:

Astro generates static HTML at build time
JavaScript is only for interactivity (command palette, etc.)
Most pages work without JavaScript (progressive enhancement)

2. Edge Delivery

Cloudflare Pages serves content from 300+ locations:

Users get content from the nearest edge server
Zero cold starts (no servers to spin up)
Infinite scale (edge network handles traffic)
<50ms latency for most requests

3. Minimal Payloads

Every byte is scrutinized:

System fonts first (zero download)
Web fonts only when needed (preloaded)
Inlined critical CSS (<15kb)
JavaScript islands (only interactive parts)
Lazy-loaded images (intersection observer)

4. Efficient Database

Cloudflare D1 (SQLite at the edge):

FTS5 full-text search (instant results)
Prepared statements (SQL injection protection)
Indexed queries (no full table scans)
Edge replication (data close to users)

Examples

The Old Way (Google Docs)

Time to share a document:
1. Open Google Docs (5s)
2. Create new doc (2s)
3. Paste content (1s)
4. Format text (30s)
5. Click Share (2s)
6. Set permissions (10s)
7. Copy link (2s)
8. Explain “Request Access” to recipient (frustration)

Total: ~52 seconds + confusion

The Standard Garden Way

Time to share a document:
1. Paste text (1s)
2. Click “Make it Beautiful” (2s)
3. URL copied to clipboard (instant)

Total: 3 seconds

17x faster. Zero confusion.

UI Principles

The Command Palette (The Gate)

Power users can do everything via keyboard:

::new – Create note
::publish – Publish note
::lang-fr – Switch to French
::theme-humanist – Change temperament
::help – Show commands

Hidden until you type :: – doesn’t clutter the interface for casual users.

Responsive by Default

Every page works on:

Desktop (typography optimized for reading)
Mobile (touch-friendly, readable on phone)
Print (beautiful PDF output)

No separate “mobile site.” No app download. Just works.

Error Messages That Help

❌ Bad: “Error 422: Unprocessable Entity”
✅ Good: “Your note is too large. Try removing some images or splitting it into multiple notes.”

❌ Bad: “Invalid token”
✅ Good: “Your login expired. Click here to get a new magic link.”

Errors should help, not confuse.

What We Don’t Do

No Dark Patterns

❌ No “limited time offers” to pressure upgrades
❌ No fake scarcity (“Only 2 spots left!“)
❌ No hiding the unsubscribe button
❌ No tricking users into paid tiers

No Feature Bloat

We don’t add features just because we can:

❌ No built-in commenting (use hypothes.is if you need it)
❌ No social feed (that’s what Mycelium is for)
❌ No analytics dashboard (just the essentials)
❌ No “productivity features” (we’re a utility, not a workflow tool)

Every feature is a burden. We only add features that justify their weight.

No Tracking Hell

✅ Privacy-first analytics (no personal data)
✅ No third-party tracking pixels
✅ No selling user data
✅ No “personalization” algorithms

Your notes are yours. We’re just the infrastructure.

The Litmus Test

Before adding any feature, ask:

“Does this add friction or waste time?”

If yes → don’t build it.

If no → still think twice.

Simplicity is the final form of sophistication.

For Developers

When building features:

Measure performance: Use Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals
Test on slow connections: 3G is still real for millions
Progressive enhancement: Works without JS? Good.
Accessible by default: Screen readers, keyboard nav
Fast or die: If it’s slow, it’s broken

Speed is not a feature—it’s respect.